Gareth Southgate’s seven big calls: Has England manager made the right or wrong selection?

Gareth Southgate has trimmed his provisional squad and picked his final 26 players for the Euros. Here were his big decisions ahead of the deadline:

Jack sent back

Southgate was lukewarm on Jack Grealish’s inclusion all week. Ahead of the Bosnia friendly he stated that the staff assessed performances across the whole season. For a player who was an unused sub in the FA Cup final, when Manchester City needed a goal, it was not a ringing endorsement. Even after an assist and a hand in Harry Kane’s goal at St James’ Park, he namechecked Eberechi Eze and Adam Wharton when asked who impressed him.

No 10s

James Maddison was axed for his form since coming back from an ankle injury which ruled him out of three months of the season. With Cole Palmer commanding a place and Jude Bellingham a certain starter, there was enough back-up in that position with Conor Gallagher also playing there for Chelsea during the season. He will also ask Phil Foden to tuck in at times during matches in Germany.

Adam Wharton

Southgate was in the Euro 1996 squad when Rio Ferdinand was with the camp for experience but not named in the squad. As a manager he picked Jude Bellingham when he was 17 for the last Euros. That was for experience but the youngster was pushing him for a place in the team in training. Now it is Wharton’s turn. He was playing for Blackburn six months ago but his ability to see passes early is rare for an English player.

Three strikers

With Harry Kane now fully fit, there was a question mark about how much back-up was needed. Ollie Watkins commanded a place on his sheer weight of goals for Aston Villa this season and it was clear he was going to the tournament. Ivan Toney’s case looked less straightforward after he failed to score for Brentford for the rest of the season after netting in the March internationals. He could come into play if England wrap up qualification to the knockout stages early - or for penalty shootouts.

Fitness to key defenders

Luke Shaw is making progress in his return from a hamstring problem and as England’s only left-back he needed to be included if there was a chance he could play some part in the tournament. Even with an expanded squad, Harry Maguire’s calf injury could not be risked. Southgate would have loved to have had him there, having picked him as one of the first names on the teamsheet for the past three major tournaments.